Automatic door.



F. J. LE BEAU.

AUTOMATIC DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 20, 1917.

1,245,743. Patented Nov. 6, 1917 2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

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ATTORNEYS;

F. J. LE BEAU.

AUTOMATIC DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED mu. 20. 191:.

Patented Nov. 6, 1917.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

ATTORNEYS.-

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

rnnnnrfno J. In TEEAU, or oiii'cAoo, i'LLi'NoIs, AssiGnoR or ONE-HALF 'ro F'I'uibrinidii mama, or (Jerome, iLLI'ivois.

Auroiv'rA'rIo some.

specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nev. e, 1. 51%.

Application filed. January 20, 1917. Serial No. 143,515.

or other places where large numbers of persons are accustomed to gather.- These doors are intended primarily for the emergency exits and are so designed that they may be locked from the outside, but will open when pressure is exerted upon any part of the inside of the door. emergency door of this general character is shown in Freed Patent N 0. 992,554:, and in some aspects, my present invention subsists in improvements over the operating mechanism therein shown.

It will be understood by those familiar with such matters that emergency doors are commonly outside doors; that is, they lead directly or practically so out-of doors. For

this reason they are more or less subject to changes in atmospheric conditions and are apt to be more or less a'ifected by moisture in the atmosphere and by changes of temperature due to the alternate heating and cooling of the inside of the'buildingl It will also be understood that emergency doors are frequently located at exits which are not the main exits of the building, and are therefore apt to be neglected for considerable periods of time, except in communities Where the inspection laws are rigid and are rigidly enforced. But in any event, there is always a tendency to neglect some one or all of the emergency doors, and it is important, therefore, that the doors should remainin operating condition, ready for instant use even though neglected for along? period of time and subjected to adverse weather conditions; It is also im-portant that the doors shall release when subjectedto very slight pressure from the inside, and regardless of'the point where the pressure is applied to the door;

In other words,- it is-i-mportant that'tlie door should release upon the exertion of slight pressure-sat any point-overthe entire surface of the inside of the door. The gene raldbj ect" of m invention isto produce zr door possess in these important characteristics:

in carryin tm myiimiention; ir'rthe d- Broadly speaking, an

sign shown I have employed an outer shell as heretofore, and an inner plate substane tially coextensive with the door sh'el1 and movable relatively thereto. But I have dispensed with the use of springsfor holding the inner plate in normal position; I have also provided improved mechanism for equalizing the movement of the inner plate and causing it atalltimes to remain parallel to its normal position. I have'also provided, novel locklng mechanism and other characteristics which will hereinafter more fully appear. r

I accomplish my objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings,

inwhich: I V

Figure I is an elevation fromthe. back showing the assembled door with the inner plate removed. I

F ig; ,2 is a sectional elevation on the line Fig. 3 is a plan section on the line 3-3,

F ig. at is a perspective view illustrating the mechanism for operating the equalizing rods, the inner plate beingshown temporae rily detached in order to better reveal the construction of the parts;

Fig.- 5 is a vertical sectional elevation of parts of the operating mechanism near the upper end of the door. The plane of sec tion is indicated by the line 2-2, Fig: 1, and the drawing illustrates the changes in posi: tion of the inner plate and parts operated thereby.

Fig.- 6 is a perspective of one form of locking bolt and operating mechanism therefor.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views;

In the form' selected to illustrate the invention,- I have shown asingle door in distinction to a double door, although it will be under; stood that twoseparate doors maybemountcd in the same plane to produce a doubledoor, if desired. According to the design shown, theouter dooiieleinent is in the form of a shell or box-like structure having an outer plate 1, top and bottom flanges 2 which ex te'nd inwardly, and side flanges 3. Said shell is supported upon'hinges 1 carried. by V 2 1,245 was rection is permitted, as illustrated near the upper end of Fig. in other words, the inner shell tits slidingly within the outer shell, but is capable of moving upward to a slight extent as it moves inward from the normal position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5. By preference, the innerplate is finished off with marginal flanges 5 and hence may be regarded as an inner shell. when made according to the selected design.

Fastened to the inside of plate 4 near the four cor .ers are hooks 7. s iown in detail at the right side of Fig. d. Th so are riveted or spotwelded to the plate in position to hang upon the cross-bars 8 located at the heads of the rocker arms 9. In the form shown. cheek plates 10 are formed at each end of the bars 8 to hold the hooks in position laterally. Said rocker arms are pivotally supported at their lower ends, the rocker arms at the upper end of the door being mounted on pins 12 and those at the lower end bein securely fastened to the lower horiz ntal equalizing rod 28.

The pins 12 are carried by brackets 13 formed on the bracket plates 14:. Said plates are fastened by screws, rivets. spotwelding or other suitable means to the inside of plate 1. The rocker arms are always oyerbalanced to a greater or less extent; that is, the upper free ends are always farther from the door front than the lower pivoted ends. Consequently, the weight of the inner plate a tends to rotate the arms backward and downward from the position shown in full lines in 5 to the position shown in dotted lines, thus letting the plate 4- more f can the position shown in full lines in said ure, backward and downward to the position shown in dotted lines. Thus. the weight of the inner plate normally holds the heads of the rocker arms at the maximum distance from the front of the door. in arm 16 tends from the side of the rocker arm. as

best shown in l l and enters betweenthe branches of a fork 17 which has a hub 18 rigidly fastened to the "vertical equalizing rods 19. Said rods are rotatable in the brackets 20 projecting from the bracket plates 1%. In the present case, the hubs 18 bear upon said brackets and thus support the rods. l he parts are so constructed and assembled that the rotation of the rocker arms 9 about their pivots will produce a corresponding rotation of the equalizing rods 19.

The bracket plates 1 1 at the lower corners of the front plate 1 are similar to the plates ll above, except that they require but a single bracket 20. Their brackets 13 serve as bearings for the lower horizontal equalizing rod 28 above mentioned. The lower rocker arms cooperate with the forks 18 on the lower end of the rods 19 in the same way the upper rocker arms do.

' red 21 is near the upper eno This rod has an arm at each end extending at right angles to it and the end of each arm enters between the branches of the fork 17. in the prefer d construction, the heads of he arms 16 and are rounded so as to fit et-ween the branches wi h a minimum of 0st motion comportable with a free articula 0*. of the parts. The function of the rod 5A: is to compel equal. amounts of rota- 19, and as the movestrictly proportional to the movement of the rods 19, and as the moyement l portions arms 7 fit unison and the plate mal t-rated form of locking bolt and the means wher by it is operated.

,l l belt 30 extends throu h a suitable a erl 1 one of the side flanges 3 into the sta tionary f "nine 31. If desired, a collar its; "7 med on the bolt to prevent it from moving too far in either direction. The belt SllOV i in perspective in Fig. 6 and in elevation rt the right side of Fig. 1. T both slidable and rotatable in thetet which is rigidly fastened to the front plate 1. ltigidly fastened to said bolt I a nub which has two arms and 36.

18 The arm extends to the inner surface of the inner plate as best shown in Fig. 2. It is he l: in contact with said plate by means of a spring 37 which is fastened at one end to the o. ter end of arm 36, and at the other end, to a pin 38 fastened to the bracket. A pin 39 projects radially from bolt 30 and works in a slot .0 in bracket 33. This slot is curred in such a manner that when the inner plate is in normal position shown in Fig. 2, the bolt will be projected or shot, as shown in Fig. 1. lVhen pressure is applied to the plate 4 and the arm 35 is r0- tated inward, the pin is caused to travel along slot 40 until it retracts the bolt and disengages it from the door frame 31. In order that the bolt may be automatically forced back when the door is swung to, it is desirable to mount a beveled strike plate 42 on the frame 31, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

In operation under normal conditions, the

inner plate a will occupy the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5. This will hold the equalizing apparatus, including the rocker arms 9, in the position shown in Figs. l and The articulate joints of the equalizing apparatus are close-fitting so that there is practically no lost motion, and as the equalizing rods 19, 2a and 28 are large enough in diameter to be rigid, the apparatus is nonwracking. and when one part moves, all the other parts will move correspondingly. The hooks 7 fit closely over the rocker arms so as to prevent lost motion and hence it follows from the foregoing that when the inner plate is moved inward, all parts of it Will move inward at exactly the same rate. Thus, the inner plate will always remain parallel to its normal position. The consequence is that it is immaterial whether the pressure against the door occurs near the top or bottom or near the center or near a corner. The inward movement will be uniform at all parts of the door, and hence the door will release no matter where the push from the inside is applied. The rocker arms are always overbalanced; that is, the upper ends are always past center in the sense that they are always farther away from the outer plate at their upper ends than at their lower ends. So the weight of the inner plate itself always tends to return it to the normal position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5. When pushed inward, it moves both inward and upward, but the rocker arms stand so nearly vertical that the upward movement is very slight. The side flanges 3 of the outer shell of the door form guides for the inner plate so that there is no particular side stress exerted upon the parts of the equalizing apparatus in the de sign shown in-the drawing.

The inward movement of the inner plate releases the locking mechanism. I do not herein lay any claim to the locking mecha nism per so. In the form here shown, however, the spring 37 tends to hold the parts in the position shown in Fig. (3 with the bolt projected and the arm in contact with the inner plate. When the inner plate moves toward the front plate, the arm 35 is rotated and the bolt withdrawn from the outer stationary door frame.

It will be noted that the connections between the equalizing apparatus and the main door plate are not only positive and non-wracking, but that the weight of the inner plate is utilized to hold it in normal position, and springs for the purpose are entirely dispensed with. As a result, there is practically speaking, nothing to deteriorate or get out of order and the door is al ways ready for instant use.

Having thus described my invention, what T claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In apparatus of the class described, a hinged door, an inner plate movable relatively thereto, rotatable equalizing elements, said equalizing elements having non-wracking, positively-articulated means effective in two directions at right angles to each other for connecting them to each other and to the door and to the inner plate.

2. An automatic door having an outer plate, rocker arms pivotally attached thereto at their lower ends and an inner plate having projections loosely riding upon the upper ends of said arms, said arms having cheek plates for preventing lateral. displacement of said projections relatively to said arms.

3. An automatic door having an outer plate, rocker arms pivotally attached thereto, an inner plate suspended from said rocker arms and equalizing means for causing the rocker arms to all move simultaneously an equal amount, said equalizing means comprising rounded heads mounted on said arms, forks having branches closely fitting said heads, and rods connecting said forks.

4. An automatic door having an outer plate, four rocker arms pivotally attached thereto near the four corners thereof, an inner plate suspended from said rocker arms, and equalizing means comprising a rounded head on each of said rocker arms, forks having branches closely fitting said heads, vertical rotatable rods connecting said forks in pairs, and a horizontal equalizing rod having rounded heads at the ends fitting between the branches of two of said forks.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

FERNANDO J. LE BEAU.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G. 

